‘Jesus Revolution’ film explores history of Calvary Chapels
In the 1960s, many young people went on quests that took them through drugs, sex, rock ‘n’ roll, and Eastern religions. Few churches knew how to minister to them. Some churches simply excluded them.
But when countercultural youths showed up at a little church called Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, Calif., pastor Chuck Smith let them in, embraced them with open arms, and let them bring their contemporary worship music along with them, setting the stage for the Jesus movement, a spiritual revival that would sweep the country.
Soon, Calvary Chapels popped up across the country. Calvary Worship Center in the Springs, founded in mid-1970s, was the first Calvary outside California.
Today, there are five Calvary Chapels in Colorado Springs, and dozens more across Colorado. Worldwide, more than 1,800 churches are affiliated with the Calvary Chapel Association.
“Jesus Revolution,” a Christian film about the Jesus movement starring Kelsey Grammer, opens Wednesday in select Colorado Springs theaters.
Al Pittman, pastor of Calvary Worship Center for the past 26 years, and Jim Etheridge, pastor of Calvary Eastside, which he founded in 1989, see the film as a chance to celebrate their churches’ unique history. (Rocky Mountain Calvary did not respond to The Gazette.)
Both pastors came to faith before they knew about Calvary Chapel, and both say Calvary’s unique DNA deepened their faith and shaped their pastoral callings.
Pittman says he listened to Chuck Smith’s radio show but didn’t know about Calvary Chapels until he “stumbled” across one while working downtown in 1979 or 1980.
A Harrison High School graduate and musician who played bass in a Christian band, Pittman was attracted to the church’s contemporary worship music, but the thing that hooked him was Calvary’s unique approach to Sunday sermons that focused on verse-by-verse Bible teaching.
“The preacher was not yelling, or claiming the world would end tomorrow, but was grounded in God’s word,” Pittman said. “I began to hear what God had done for me rather than what I should do for God.”
Both pastors also appreciate Calvary’s emphasis on the presence and supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, which they say guides them in their ministries.
Etheridge says he was saved in a Southern Baptist Church in Oklahoma in 1972, but until he visited the Calvary Chapel here in 1978, “I didn’t even know the Holy Spirit existed.”
Etheridge worked alongside Smith in Costa Mesa in 1988-1989, including eight hours he spent one day helping Smith and other pastors baptize hundreds of new believers in the Pacific Ocean. “I love the freedom we have in the Spirit, balanced with the anchor we’ve got in God’s word,” Etheridge said.
And both pastors say it was Chuck Smith’s emphasis on showing love and grace to the lost that got the whole movement started.
“Chuck’s love for sinners and evangelistic outreach attracted me,” says Pittman, who received a scholarship to study at Nazarene Bible College here after he felt called to the ministry. “Calvary offered an atmosphere of grace, not an atmosphere of legalism. They embraced the young people, the hippies, the drug addicts, and whoever was there.”
Both men knew they were being caught up in a larger movement, but neither realized how big it would grow. “We were aware the Jesus movement was going on, but we never knew it would turn into some global phenom,” Etheridge said. “The movement has matured, but the spiritual depth is still there. It has been the ride of a lifetime.”
Pastor Chuck Smith (Kelsey Grammer) listens as long-haired Jesus people play their new-fangled worship music in “Jesus Revolution.”
Kelsey Grammer stars as pastor Chuck Smith in “Jesus Revolution,” a Christian film that opens Wednesday in Colorado Springs.
Calvary Worship Center in Colorado Springs.
Al Pittman
Calvary Worship Center in Colorado Springs.
